Oh, NBC, what are you doing? Is your little green peacock logo supposed to make me throw some solar panels up on my roof? Today is doing a great job. I'm trying to remember to watch in the morning, and it's definitely interesting. But is it really green week? Are you really doing everything you can? And why just one week? (See Green Week is Back!)

I'm not trying to be hard on NBC for the sake of it... after all, CBS' eye isn't green this week. And ABC, what exactly do you do to be green?

They say on the site: Throughout the week, 42 NBCU brands will feature 150 plus hours of
environmentally themed programming across the company's television and
digital platforms.

Is that message from the Heroes guy supposed to change the world?

From the Today site, you can click on a button to tell NBC what you think about Green Week. Part of that survey is the following question: 

So they're saying they'll be green year-round if people will click on the ads in their website. Not for the sake of the environment. Not to provide people with helpful resources. I understand NBC has to have ratings to make money and I respect that. But this year, green week isn't sitting any better with me than it did last year.

My recycling service just stepped it up a notch and started taking more plastics and paperboard. While this is beyond exciting for me, I always wonder if I can do more. Recycling isn't always about curbside service, and Yahoo! has a great article with some tips for things you can recycle by mail.

• Plastic cards: Recycle your hotel keys and gift cards through Earthworks. Mail your cards to Earthworks, c/o Halprin Industries, 25840 Miles Rd., Bedford, OH 44146.
• Plastic #5: If you can't send it off with your curbside pickup, mail your #5 containers to preserve. Their website offers a downloadable mailer that you can fill with your recyclables and take to the post office.
• Plastics and corks: Terracycle will take yogurt cups, drink pouches, shower curtains, even wine corks. You can register with them to receive pre-paid mailers, or find drop-off locations in your community via the Terracycle website.
• Athletic shoes: Nike takes your old shoes and makes them into track and playground surfaces. Send your shoes to Nike Recycling Center, c/o Reuse-A-Shoe, 26755 SW 95th Ave., Wilsonville, OR 97070, or find a collection place near you.
• Batteries and handheld electronics: iRecycle will sell you a recycling kit for $24. Pack your pre-paid mailer full of your batteries, cell phones and PDAs and drop in the mail. Waste Management only charges $16.95 for their dry cell battery recycling kit, but they only take batteries, not phones or handhelds.
• Cell phones: If you don't want to pay $24, visit www.recyclemycellphone, where you can request a pre-paid mailing label for free from Earthworks. Many non-profit organizations take phones and accessories too as fundraisers.
• Computers, stereos and televisions: Waste Management sells kits to recycle large electronics, including computers, monitors, keyboards, TVs, phones, electronic toys, small appliances, CDs, DVDs, stereos, DVD players, VCRs, fax machines and electric clocks. Kits range in price from $39.95 to $69.95 depending on how large a box you need.
• Glasses: Lions Recycle For Sight will take your old eyeglasses, clean them, and then redistribute to mission groups around the world to give to those in need. You can mail your glasses to Lions Club International, Attention: Receiving Department, 300 W. 22nd St, Oakbrook, IL 60523, or drop off at a Lion's Club near you. Many optomotrists' offices and eyeglass shops have drop boxes.
• CDs, printer cartridges, mice, cords, etc.: Greendisk will recycle your "technotrash." They charge $6.95 for processing up to 20 pounds of trash, and you have to cover shipping. When you pay the processing fee, they'll give you a mailing label.
• CFLs and fluorescent tubes: Waste Management sells recycling kits for light bulbs. It's $16.95 for up to 15 CFLs and $59.95 for as many as 16 t-8 tubes or 7 t-12 tubes. 

Paying to recycle might seem like a turn-off, but with some research, you may be able to find friends to recycle with you and share costs. Also, many community organizations, especially schools, recycle to help raise money. If you're not interested in mailing your recyclables, consider taking them to sites in your community to help both the organization and the environment. 

Last year, NBC whooped it up for November sweeps and took advantage of eco-consciousness and went green. For a week. The Today Show did a great job with their stories on the state of the environment and tips on going green, but the rest of green week was a joke. The now-defunct Journeyman went green when Katie asked her husband Dan to take the recycling out. The Biggest Loser held a challenge involving soda cans. Way to change America!

Now it seems NBC is doing it again - during November sweeps, no less. Today is going to the "Ends of the Earth" to explain what's changed in the last year.  I'm looking forward to it. I think they're going to offer a lot of great information. I'm just waiting to see how my favorite shows will claim to be green. For one night.

If NBC wanted to make a real impact, they'd do more than be green for one week. Green would become as natural as product placement. Every character should recycle. Every TV family should own a hybrid. Live it instead of using it as a gimmick. We see right through your green peacock. A little environmental awareness is better than nothing, but for a powerhouse like NBC, a week isn't enough.

In Tuesday's election, California voters voted to support farm animals by approving Proposition 2, which is aimed at ending cruel and inhumane treatment to farm animals. This measure will provide farm animals - chickens, calves and pigs, for example - with more space in their cages. Many animals never learn to walk before they're taken to slaughter because they don't have room to move in their pens. Animals can't turn around and have no semblance of a normal, healthy life. Hopefully this measure will change that.

And though voters are in support of farm animals, they defeated two interesting environmental propositions on the ballot. The first, Proposition 7, was to require utilities to generate 20% of power from renewable energy sources by 2010, 40% by 2020 and 50% from renewable energy sources by 2025. 65% of voters were against this idea.

The second, Proposition 10, was a $5 billion bond program to assist people with the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles and for research of alternative fuel technology. 60% of voters voted against this.

I don't live in California, but the results surprised me. California has done a great job in leading the nation in environmental progress and in setting an example for the country to follow or, at the very least, aspire to. What do you think about these ballot initiatives? Too far ahead of our time? Do we need to focus on other priorities right now?

The American Planning Association recently announced its 2008 designees for Great Places in America, including great neighborhoods, great public places and great streets.

Great Neighborhoods:

• Charles Village, Baltimore, Maryland
• Downtown Salem, Salem, Massachusetts
• Downtown Sheridan, Sheridan, Wyoming
• Echo Park, Los Angeles, California
• Greater Park Hill, Denver, Colorado
• Greater University Hill, Syracuse, New York
• North End, Boise, Idaho
• Old Town, Wichita, Kansas
• Society Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Village of Mariemont, Mariemont, Ohio

Great Streets:

• 7th Avenue, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida
• Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Clarendon and Wilson Boulevards, Arlington, Virginia
• Commercial Street, Portland, Maine
• Main Street, Annapolis, Maryland
• Mill Avenue, Tempe, Arizona
• South El Paso Street, El Paso, Texas
• Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota
• Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts
• West Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky

Great Public Spaces:

• Central Park, New York City, New York
• Church Street Marketplace, Burlington, Vermont
• Mellon Square, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland, Oregon
• Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica, California
• Union Station, Washington, D.C.
• Waterfront Park, Charleston, South Carolina
• Waterplace Park, Providence, Rhode Island
• West Side Market, Cleveland, Ohio
• Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza, Prescott, Arizona

 The APA website details the lengthy criteria they take into account
when making their selections, but I wonder, what do you think makes a
great neighborhood, street or public place?

CNN reports today that despite the rapid drop in gas prices, food prices are likely to stay right where they are, even though they increased in the first place because of high fuel costs. Worried about declining consumer confidence, prices will remain high in all areas - not just food - so that businesses can continue to make a profit while fewer people are buying.

The CNN article outlines all the rationale behind this, but I wonder, how does this affect shopping of everyday people? Sure, there's a segment of the population who can buy whatever they want regardless of the cost, but there's a pretty significant group of people who are in the produce section, weighing the merits of organic apples over their half-as-expensive non-organic counterpart. An Oprah show last week compared the lives of chickens bearing cage-free eggs to those who spend their lives in cages. A strong argument against cage free was price. How high do prices have to go to compromise beliefs and morals?

The $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan included a little bonus for bicycle commuters: $20 per month tax-free reimbursement. Those who commute by bike and work with others who get free or reduced parking or transportation assistance are eligible for the credit. Employers can deduct the $20 from federal tax in 2009.

Regardless of what you think about the bailout (or emergency economic stabilization act), if you're a cycling advocate, you'll know this is good news. Cyclists need to be recognized by the government, and as a society, we have to acknowledge the positive contribution bicycle commuters have on the environment, on traffic congestion and on health. This is a posititve step in integrating bicycles into society and giving them equal weight with motor vehicles.

Concerned about shuttling kids around in Bicycle City? Check out Kristi's bike, which was featured recently on Oprah. She opted to have her family bicycle more to help save money.  Other ideas shared on this show included trading furniture with friends instead of buying new, as well as unplugging everything in the house when not in use.

What are you doing to save money in the sputtering economy? 

The League of American Bicyclists named 13 companies to a bicycle-friendly business list, and while most are cycling or recreational-minded companies, there are a few delightful surprises. Companies were chosen for promoting cycling to employees through bike commuting and parking programs and other support programs to help employees make healthy lifestyle choices.

Gold
Alta Planning + Design (Portland, OR)
Clif Bar & Company (Berkeley, CA)
Landry's Bicycles (Boston, MA)
Quality Bicycle Products (Bloomington, MN)

Silver
Community Cycles (Boulder, CO)
Ecology Action (Santa Cruz, CA)

REI (Northbrook, IL Store)

Bronze
California Giant Berry Farms (Watsonville, CA)
EasyStreet Online Services (Beaverton, OR)
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission (Roanoke, VA)
Santa Cruz Seaside Company (Santa Cruz, CA)
Urban AdvenTours (Boston, MA)
Whatcom Council of Governments (Bellingham, WA)

Honorable Mentions
Atlassian (San Francisco, CA)
Beckmann's Bakery (Santa Cruz, CA)

Geo. H. Wilson, Inc. (Santa Cruz, CA)
National Park Service, Midwest Regional Office (Omaha, NE)
Sprinkle Consulting, Inc. (Lutz, FL)
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (Watertown, MA)

How does your company stack up? Do you participate in a bicycle commuting incentive program? What kinds of programs would you like to see your office implement? 

Gas prices have fallen 18% since July 17, welcome news in turbulent economic times. But as gas prices have climbed over the last year, driving has decreased. People's eco-consciousness has awakened. But will we forget now that gas isn't upwards of $4 per gallon? Will we see savings in gas and relax our newly developed driving habits?

Let's hope not. Remember, conserving gas isn't just about saving a few dollars. It's about being aware of our waste, aware of the time we spend in a car. 

How about you? Now that gas prices have gone down a bit, will you drive more?